Boone's Lick

"I'll deal with Ro

About that time we heard Little Nicky neigh.

40

"He smells our mules," Uncle Seth said. "If he runs up and tries to bite one of you, get a halter on him."

"I smell something cooking," G.T. said. "Maybe they've killed a beef."

"Or a mule," Uncle Seth said.

I knew that some of the families that camped or homesteaded around in the woods lived poorly-- the more so since the war, when nobody in the vicinity of Boone's Lick suffered from too much to eat--but I forgot all about being part of a posse when we rode into the Millers' camp and saw all the skin-and-bones people. There were so many children that it might have been a schoolhouse-- only there was no proper house, just three or four shacks with no windows or doors. Uncle Seth later said that he counted sixteen children, none of them older than ten and many of them babies, in the crawling or toddling state. Uncle Seth had guessed right when he said it was a mule cooking: Henry Clay, fully ski

Newt and Percy Tebbit were both there, cutting Henry Clay into strips of jerky. Lester Miller was there--he had been let off light by the circuit judge, and also Lyle and Jody, the two men who had hobbled away after the bear got them pitched off their horses.

Several rifles were in sight, leaned up against stumps here and there, but no one made a move for them, when we rode in. Little Nicky was tied to a bush not far away.

Ro

"It's surprising how quick a knife will go dull when you're cutting up a tough mule," Ro

"Yes, or any large critter," Uncle Seth said, in a friendly tone. "I believe buffalo are the worst--an old buffalo is a damn task to cut up."

"That's a pleasure I've not had, Seth," Ro

"I would have hung the son of a bitch myself, if I could have ever caught him off guard," he added.

41

"It's no surprise that Jake wasn't well liked in the family," Uncle Seth said. "He cursed all of you thoroughly while they were settling the hang rope around his neck."

Just then there was a screech from Percy Tebbit, who had sidled up beside Little Nicky. I imagine he meant to leap on Nicky and run off with him, before we could stop him, but Little Nicky, who had been baring his teeth at Percy, reached down and bit him right in the hand.

"Dem, he's nearly bitten my hand off!" Percy said, blood spurting from his hand.

"It's unwise to approach this particular mule unless you have a stout club," Uncle Seth said. "He'll bite anybody that conies in reach."

He rode over and untied Nicky, an action that drew unfriendly looks from some of the Millers and the Tebbits.

"You see, I told you we should have shot both mules," Newt Tebbit said.

"We had intended to eat both those animals, since we found them ru

"Newt's right--if you wanted to eat him you should have shot him," Uncle Seth said. "Though I despise a biting mule I have to take this one home.

I can give you a fine tip about that bear, though-- he's got himself a den under that little rocky spur, about two miles west of Stump town. If I was you I'd smoke him out. A bear is just as tasty as a mule."

"They can't bite much worse than this son of a bitch bites, neither,"

Percy Tebbit said, trying to wring the blood off his hand.

"Did you really see that bear go into a den?" G.T. asked, once we had left with Nicky.

"Mind your own business, G.T.," Uncle Seth said, and that was all the answer he ever made.

Ma was not happy about the loss of Henry Clay, either.

"How do you know we won't need to eat a mule, before we're through?" Ma asked.

If Uncle Seth made any answer I didn't hear it.

13 PEOPLE think Bill Hickok can't miss, but he can miss," Uncle Seth said. Qj We were walking to Boone's Lick. Ma had sent me off to the dry goods store to get a thimble--she was always losing thimbles. Her theory was that baby Marcy was swallowing them, though we could never catch her at it. When he saw me leaving, Uncle Seth fell in with me, although he had no particular errand--none that he mentioned to me, anyway.

"People think Bill always gets his man, but he don't," he went on--the thought of Mr. Hickok's big reputation seemed to irritate him for some reason.

42

"Look at what happened when he took off after Little Billy Perkins,"

Uncle Seth reminded me. "It was clear in a minute that Little Billy had the faster mount, but would Bill quit? Not him! Little Billy swam the Missouri River twice and then headed west--he outran Bill all the way to the Smoky Hill River, which is in Kansas--and Bill still didn't get him.

They say Bill Hickok wore out three horses before he admitted defeat."

I think Uncle Seth meant to leave me at the dry goods store, to purchase my thimble, while he went on to the saloon, which was only three doors away, but just as I was about to peel off from him, who should step out of the store but Rosie McGee. She was surely pretty--now that I knew we were kin I could see that she resembled Ma, in some ways. They had the same black hair, and the same gray eyes and long fingers. Of course, Rosie looked more like a town lady than Ma did. There was a time before the war when Ma had gone into town now and then, to socials and quilting bees and that kind of thing; but the war dragged on and life at the freight yard got so hard that Ma rarely indulged in visits to Boone's Lick anymore.

"Hello, Seth--I hear you're leaving me," Rosie said, with a little smile.

She was carrying a fan, although it wasn't hot. The fan looked as if it was made of pearls, or something.

"It's likely--there's talk of a trip to try and locate Dick," Uncle Seth admitted.

"You could introduce me to your nephew, the wagoner's lad," Rosie said.

"I hope he's quick on his feet, if you're heading into the Cheye

"Well, his name is Sherman but we all call him Shay," Uncle Seth said.

"You can call him what you like but I intend to call him Sherman," Rosie said. "I don't like these little names."